A Friend
by Elchikaah Haly
Summary: Post-AA5. The mourning has been quite difficult for Apollo after the events on December, but his friends at the agency are preparing him a surprise by inviting him to a little party. Cover Image by me. A French version of this fic is also available. No pairings in.
1. Chapter 1

_I haven't been in the fan fiction world since years, but after drawing that little friendship comic in Tumblr, I decided to write it in more details._

_This fic was written in French first since French is my main language, then I went for an English version, trying my best. _:(

_No romance in this story, by the way._

_**Disclaimer:**__ I do not own Ace Attorney and its characters. Capcom own them._

**Chapter 1: Nostalgia**

On this cold but almost warm night of January, a misty moon appeared like a ghost through the sky fog. The light amount of snow that survived the last storm wonderfully shined under the bright celestial body as if it was giving life on the tiny planet. A lone young man was standing outside on his balcony as he was contemplating the beautiful full moon. He could feel the gentle breeze on his chins, and like a dream, he felt like smiling to it, the feeling of nostalgia and ecstasy spreading thorough. He was starting to imagine the unknown that was beyond this world, across these fluffy, majestic clouds, that atmosphere that kept all living beings prisoner on Earth but also gave them the life they all needed, ironically.

After a long, exhausting day cleaning the bathroom in the office where he was being employed by the famous attorney Phoenix Wright, Apollo threw out a long and quiet sigh, leaving out a trail of warm puff from his lips. Though he was cherishing this lonely and precious moment in his charming little apartment, he was suddenly thinking about life, death, his friends, his old clients; all the lives he could have saved simply by using his own logic and intelligence, by defending people from crimes they did not commit. How amusing to realize that when people think about saving lives, they think of epic heroes, like policemen and firemen, but Apollo was none of them. He was a "simple" defense attorney. Even though saving lives at the Wright Anything Agency was a meager pay to his wallet, he did not mind that little fact.

After all, as his best friend used to say, the surname of Justice fitted him perfectly.

However, the justice power was all but unlimited, and it couldn't save the whole world on such little Earth, but his way of justice was still a great start nevertheless. Pondering about it, he was starting to take a slow, heavy breath.

Soon, trying to forget about this mixture of negative and positive thoughts, he decided to return inside home. After all, he did deserve that day off that was coming tomorrow. Like a hefty ball coming from above, he lazily let himself fall on his old couch, he reached for his cellphone and began to browse through all of his applications, trying to find a good movie or a new series to follow. A good, entertaining media wouldn't hurt right now. But time passed as he started to feel rejected by the idea of the great Internet not offering enough pleasant choices for his liking. Seeing the slight despair that began to appear on him, a small ball of fur jumped on his lap and started to rub his head against the young man's chest, leaving a soft purr in the process. Letting out a forced but gentle laugh, Apollo replied back by giving his feline friend a soft stroke.

"Hey there, Kitty!" the boy called. "Did you miss me? I sure missed you! You're hungry?"

Alas, as he had to get up from his comfy place so he could feed his cat, there was a sudden tingling feeling on his leg. Surprised, he noticed the cellphone he placed on his lower member. Another loud quivering could be heard and this time, his furry companion got startled by it, fleeing straight to a corner, visibly agitated by the little machine. Curiously, Apollo took his cellphone again and went through his notifications. "Hey, that's from Trucy," he mentioned, a little stunned, noticing the one who sent him a text message. "I thought she'd be asleep at this time of the night…" He stopped as soon as he started to think more thoughtfully to what he just said. "Wait, what am I talking about? She's 16, there's no way her father would implement such a hasty curfew at this time… Especially with that attitude of his… I wonder why she sends me a text that late…"

_Polly! How r u? Maybe your sleeping rite now, but Athena is goin to do a lil party at the office next saturday! If everthings good, their will b me, daddy, her, you, Junie and big sis Pearl! Even if xmas was last monht, were going to do a gift xchange, nd if u come, we drew u Athena so ur gonna have to buy a gift for her! Since we did the drawing alread u gonna have to come! Text me back or call me if u coming!_

There were few details that made Trucy's message so cringe worthy, and the most noticeable one was all those typing mistakes. Secondly, Juniper. There was something off about her that he couldn't really get his hands on, and whenever she was present around him and she'd open her mouth, his mysterious bracelet would tighten most of the time, which was somewhat fishy. Thirdly, there were so many contradictions in the text that he was kind of forced to come to that party anyway, no matter his decision to the invitation. And finally, the gift for Athena. What could a young, tomboy eighteen years old girl be wanting? What kind of gift should he get her?

Wait, what was he thinking about? There was no way to know that he was indeed going to that little party for sure, but at the same time, it's been about a month he was thoughtful about the case of the young woman.

Of course, the last month wasn't his best lived time. Almost lost in his thoughts, he felt like drifting through his memories, once again, reminded by those past events that still taunted him to this day. That was supposed to be one of his greatest events of his young age: the launch of a dream, the HAT-2 mission which would have sent two remarkable astronauts to space. Even if the 21th century did not depict a rocket launch as an epic adventure as in the last century before theirs, an era that he, unfortunately, never got to witness, that launch day was going to be one of the best days of his life.

That was the day where one of his favorite idols would fly away in space beyond the vast unknown, and this time with his own best friend.

Clay Terran.

There was such an amicable envy as he reminded himself of the joyous grin the young astronaut was showing when he learned he had been chosen as the second member to accompany the great Solomon Starbuck in space, and at the tender age of 22 (well at least at the time). Full of energy and hope, Clay was going to live his dreams, just like Apollo did, although his own law debut ended in quite a disaster. They were practically both enjoying their reveries: Apollo Justice became a prosperous defense attorney, having the chance to save lives under the guidance of his idol Phoenix Wright, and Clay Terran became an adventurous astronaut, one who would be doing what most of mortals on this Earth had never accomplished by going into space under the guidance of his idol Solomon Starbuck.

At least that was what it was supposed to be.

Despite their legendary successes, fate had never been so unfair.

Today, Clay was no more. All of his existence, his goal, his dream, all disappeared like a crumbling house of cards, and a life ended to solely to preserve the identity of a certain man who could not, in the end, preserve it. A vain, useless death.

Suddenly, as he closed all of his fingers firmly in a firm sound, there was some anger consuming the young man. He started to shake his fists, his teeth gritting. Why did it have to happen? Why was this world full of cursed, coldblooded individuals, wandering freely on Earth? Why did those people enjoy taking lives so much while only thinking about their own persona? Those evil ones, worse than animals, they… did not deserve to live!

Like a soft slap on his being, his furry friend ran to him, waking him from his deep, nightmarish thoughts. Little Kitty was requesting even more attention now as if the cat could feel his human companion's pressure. Apollo let out an easygoing giggle and softly patted his friend. It looked like the feline being was demanding forgiveness for putting animals on the same level as those heartless criminals. No, on the contrary, those evil human beings were simply being… humans. While animals kill for the sake of surviving, the reasons for humans to kill would enrage even the strongest of the predators.

Then enter Athena Cykes, his collegue but also his good friend. It was not like if he knew her for that very long, only he had met her less than a year ago during that weird, monstrous case, but her sociable and cheerful demeanor gave him more confidence in his work. In fact, her presence as the newbie at the Wright Anything Agency forced him to act like a mentor to her, and even she saw him as her senior who was so dedicated to his lawyer job. It was a matter of fact that she was also the only member of the agency who fully respected him, Apollo never getting that much esteem from others even after his implication into clearing Wright's name from the forgers and testing the new successful jurists system that was still not officially implemented in the court but will eventually be. That special case even made it in the news.

But even with all the praise and admiration he got from his co-worker, he still dared to accuse her of the murder of his best friend Clay.

Apollo cursed himself. Even since he discovered his genetic talent for perceiving lies and nervous tics from people, with the additional help of the bracelet that was apparently given by his vanished mother, he thought he'd be able to take full advantage of his powers to help himself in his eternal quest of convicting all the criminals for their crimes.

Unfortunately, like in all stories and legends, the lust for power will always fall against their holders, and Apollo was no exception to this rule. While his bracelet and his eyes were pointing all hints toward his dear friend as the murderer of his friend, deep in his mind, he was being denial of his own power. He refused to believe that Athena was the one, but the devil that was his skill told him otherwise. To make things worse, it did not help him, and her, when more physical evidences pointed her as the culprit for not only Clay's murder, but her mom's murder from a past crime as well.

Exhausted, Apollo moved his hands through his hair that had lost, since a while, all of its stiffness that apparently gave him the look of a demon (at least according to Trucy's friend, Jinxie). Thanks to Mr. Wright talent, passion, trust and deduction (and a bit of bluffs), Athena was finally found innocent of both crimes and the real criminal was convicted for good. All was well that ended well!

Truthfully, almost well, since this still won't bring Clay back in this world. Another feeling of nostalgia took over him.

But there was no need to live in the past now. He knew his actions threw his friend Athena off her joyful live she tried so hard to keep up with, and he knew she forgave him completely; so, as of now, he only needed to think about the thing he could offer her for the gift exchange. Let's go back to the original question: what does a young 18 years old tomboy girl would like to get forgiven even further? After few eternal minutes, he was so desperate for an answer he was going to ask his cat for one. There was a face palm at the thought of it: since when do we ask a cat such silly questions?

"Okay, Apollo, she's 18, soon to be 19. She came from Europe on spring last year. She loves the color of yellow and she lives alone in her empty apartment. Her salary is as thin as mine and she probably doesn't have many things at home."

While his situation was not so different from hers, he had been lucky as he was awarded with scholarships and pension from being an orphan; additionally, Clay would help him with smaller expenses thanks to his father. Also, unlike most of the typical youth of his generation, Apollo was not a big spender on money and he managed to keep some parts of the slightly better salary he gained as an employee at the Gavin Law Offices.

An idea unexpectedly hit him. Wait a minute, since she was alone and that it has not been a long time since she settled in this country, why not some useful house objects? A kit for kitchen, for dishes, for utensils, for bedro… Shit, maybe that wasn't a good idea. How many weird stories did he hear from other men on how they only get slapped for giving such gifts (thus resulting of bringing these gifts back to the stores!)? He was wondering why the heck women would not like such useful gifts. He himself might be in need of such everyday objects in his little apartment.

There were more seconds, then minutes that passed, and his brain was still drawing a blank at the quest of finding an answer to his question. In a desperate move, he grabbed his cellphone again and started browsing in his internet application for the kinds of gifts girls wanted in these days. Disappointment only hit his spirits as the answers he found were oddly unsatisfactory: why would a girl need a makeup kit of $100, a perfume of $200, a purse of $500 and a fine lingerie at the same price? That was definitely not Athena's type (fortunately!). His mind was doubting if all those stereotypes about the needs of women of his generation were actually true.

A sudden, cold shiver traveled through his whole body at the same time something lightened in his mind. But of course! What was better than a gift certificate? Not only would that save him from a tremendous amount of hours of shopping (an ultimate suffering for men like him), but he would not have to think about the kind of gift to get anymore! Everything was going to be so easy: he'd get a gift certificate in a cute envelope, and Athena would be happy! Well, at least he would be happy to get one! At last, his answer came like an extreme revelation.

That night, he could have his peaceful sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

_I thank you for reading this fic! Also thanks for the reviews! Critiques are encouraged too! Hopefully this chapter is a bit less boring since it has more "actions"! There might be some moments that look like romance, but I don't automatically assume that having lone moments with someone of the opposite gender (or same) is romance. _:p _Also, hugs do not automatically mean love either._  
_  
I actually had a very hard time writing this chapter in English…_

_**Disclaimer:**__ I do not own Ace Attorney and its characters. Capcom own them._

**Chapter 2: The Party**

"Polly! You finally came!"

"Huh, Trucy, I've been reminding you the whole week that I was coming…"

There was an excitement that could be seen shining in the young magician eyes as she ran toward her older colleague in red and closed her two arms around his neck, ignoring what he just said. After, Trucy let her two feet on the floor and proceeded to carefully put a little, pointy birthday hat on Apollo, leaving him speechless and confused. Since when do we need hats in a party with grownups? "Wow, this hat looks so great on you!" Trucy exclaimed out joyously.

Apollo was protesting. "What? But why a birthday hat? Is it someone's birthday? And this elastic is a bit tight!"

"But Polly, it's to make this event more fun! You have to suffer to have fun!"

"I think the proper saying should be more like _'One has to suffer to look beautiful'_…"

Strangely, it took him quite a time to realize that he was the last one to arrive at the agency. Everyone else was already here, minding their own business and having fun, wearing their usual costume, each with the additional accessory of their own birthday hat. Usually, during business time, he'd be the first to be here.

The party was surprisingly quite fun and enjoyable. M. Wright had brought his gaming console with a weird dancing game and a party game. Obviously, victory was already Athena's as soon as she reached for the controller. No one dared to try to beat her, way too frightened on how she'd react if she were to lose. Taking a break on the game, Juniper, a little agitated after some drinks, decided to sooth herself by sticking _very_ close to her hero in red Apollo, with a slight discomfort coming from him. Pearl was deep in some random discussions she had with the one she considered her little sister, Trucy. And at last, M. Wright suddenly felt asleep after few glasses of grape juice. Sometimes, Apollo was wondering if his boss just feigned this "drunken" act, or if his grape juices were really grape wines.

After the wonderful meal M. Wright offered the team (this time from an excellent Chinese restaurant!), it was time for Athena's announcement for their gift exchange. Except for Trucy, no one was aware from whom they will receive their gift. With this in mind, the excitement won over the group as they could not wait to see what kind of surprise they would get soon.

Normally, as the one who drew the names for the exchange, Trucy was the first one to begin. She nearly jumped on her relatively badly wrapped box to give it to her father. As she revealed her wide grin, there was suddenly a strangely familiar feeling that came upon Apollo: his bracelet was tightening on his wrist. Somewhere, somehow, he could feel the tensed spirit the magician was emanating from her as the box reached the older man's hands. He'd gotten a bad feeling about this: whenever his ability was starting to tingle, something evil would come next. He tried to ignore it since this was supposed to be a happy moment; alas, he could not fight it.

As his eyes wandered around the corner, he noticed it: Athena, too, could sense a tension as she gave Trucy an odd glare, probably feeling something off about the little girl's heartbeat.

However, the pressure in the air quickly disappeared as the wrapped paper M. Wright was tearing apart revealed the mysterious object it used to carefully hide: a Mozart compositions book. As the father rapidly skimmed every single pages of it, a loud, amicable laughter was heard from his mouth, almost rivaling his student's famous "Chords of Steel". "Very funny, Trucy," M. Wright spitted out, gently. "You should already know that I don't play the piano anymore!"

"But daddy, we can't just keep this piano unused in this office like a useless fixture in the background! We must give it some use, don't you think?"

Athena announced herself into the conversation with as much enthusiasm as Trucy. "She's right, you know, boss? Don't I need to tell you that I've been eager to hear you play the piano ever since you told me about it? You should play and show us your talent in front of us for once!"

Crossing his arms in disagreement, Apollo decided to intervene. "Talent?" the young man exclaimed with a mocking air in his word. "Which talent do you speak of? I don't think we have the same definition of that word." With this, M. Wright only laughed even more and soon, everyone else joined him in this humorous, almost like family moment.

From this, a warm, joyful feeling took over Apollo. It was as if he found his long lost family.

So that was it; the teen girl was feeling tense at the thought of giving her father this "funny" little gift. There was no wonder to why his bracelet reacted to this as much as Athena's ears reacted to Trucy's fastened heartbeat. Even so, Apollo wished the rest of the evening would go smoothly and stay enjoyable and cheerful.

Being the boss of the agency, M. Wright thought to be the one who should make the bigger expense for the gift he was going to give. For this reason, he offered a quite expensive dress to Juniper. After thanking her friend's mentor, she turned to Athena with a devious smile after realizing why her friend was so secretive in these last days: that was to help M. Wright finding her the perfect gift!

On her turn, Juniper presented Pearl a charming scarf she herself knitted with all her sweats. The young medium felt quite pleased as she grabbed it and rolled it around her neck. This scarf will be pretty useful in the Kurain village where she lived; this year winter could be a bit colder than usual.

As Pearl tried to reach the box that hid the gift she was going to give, she suddenly gasped, leaving her mouth open wide for few seconds. She reddened at the thought of forgetting the gift she had brought, but fortunately, she finally remembered where she left it. She turned to Apollo, much to his slight awkwardness. "Ah, sorry, Apollo!" she let out. "I left your gift on the ground floor of the apartment! Don't wait for me and just go ahead with the exchange; I'll go get it back!" After her last words, she ran out of the entrance door and disappeared behind the wall that separate their place and the hallway. Apollo did not even have the time to reply that she could have waited just a little, so he simply raised his shoulders.

The opportunity came to him as he took out from his pocket a cute little envelope and gave it to Athena with a shy smile. She gave him back one. While Athena reached for the piece of paper, Trucy almost came out of nowhere and cried out with a scornful tone: "Ah-ha! This looks like a gift certificate! That was a lazy gift, Polly!"

Unable to stop his heart from beating faster, poor Apollo's face became red as an apple, shivers coming out from his back. Was the gift hidden under his envelope so obvious? Or was Trucy too bright for him? He felt too embarrassed to say anything, and Athena noted it. To solve his tiny humiliation, she opened her arms with a friendly grin stapled on her face and hug her male friend. "But Trucy," Athena started as she turned her head to the little magician, almost as if she was defending her colleague. "I love gift certificates! I'm glad you got one for me, Apollo!"

Relief took over the young man as he did not feel any tension coming from his friend, meaning she really meant it and was not pretending for his sake. After tearing the envelope, she took out the gift certificate and, surprisingly, a letter was also found in there. She held it close to her eyes, reading it in a not-so-quiet way.

"_Dear Athena Cykes,_

_I knew you'd be reading this letter loudly, but I beg of you to read it in your mind, please! :)_ "

Everyone suddenly laughed, except Athena who was feeling quite embarrassed, feeling a little ashamed of herself, just like Apollo himself at the moment. "Ah, sorry Apollo! I shall do as you please!" And the reading continued, this time, in silence, much to Trucy and Juniper's disappointment, wanting to hear the rest.

"_Here's the gift I'm giving to you, a nice gift certificate you can use in the shopping center close to here. I didn't know what to offer you, but I hope this gift will be okay to you and I also hope you won't think it's a lazy gift (because I'm under the impression that Trucy will have a comment about it). I never had an occasion in the past to give something to a girl."_

At the very moment of those last two written sentences, a silent chuckle escaped from the young woman's lips. This attracted even more attention from the rest.

"_I also want to take this chance to use this letter as a reason to excuse myself for the incident last month, where I accused you for the murder of Clay. I didn't know what to think; my best friend has just disappeared from this world, everything crumbled before me and to add even further in this hell, my bracelet pointed you as the one who caused his death._

_However, while in that confused state, I could only think of Clay and myself. Never had I realized that you had your own issues too during all those past years. After all, that murdered stole the life of your mother as he did with Clay. On the top of that, after being lost in your emotions, I had to accuse you just before your innocence verdict. If Clay ever knew what I did, I don't think he'd be proud of it._

_Even now that I know I was wrong and you forgave me completely, the thoughts of the past still haunt my mind, and, once again, I'm sorry, again, and again. I don't know how many times I'll ask you to forgive me, but I don't want you to feel awkward if I continue to ask for your forgiveness; it's in my nature._

_Today, I know everything is fine. I know that Clay is fine where he is, your mother is fine, M. Wright is fine, Trucy is fine, M. Blackquill is fine, you are fine and I'm fine!_

_I sincerely thank you, Athena,_

_Apollo Justice_"

At the end of the letter, few quiet sobs were heard, and then timid tears started flowing out of the young girl's glittering eyes. Slowly, she stepped forward her senior partner with a light and serene smile and she proceeded to give him, this time, a warmer hug. Pressure slowly evaporated into the thin air as Apollo felt the contact of her body against his, though he still felt a bit shy out of this. "Thanks to you too, Apollo…" she whimpered.

BAM!

A sudden, loud noise broke the touching instant as everyone got startled. At the entrance door, Pearl revealed herself, a bit exhausted from running through few stairs, holding close to her a little box that was wrapped in an even worse way than Trucy's gift to her father. It was fortunate for her that the gift under the numerous amounts of papers was well hidden. "Huf, huf… I have your gift, Apollo! We can now continue the exchange at once!" she cried out in a hoarse voice.

As Athena freed Apollo from her arms, Pearl lent the young man the gift in his hands, the lawyer still a bit shaken from what just happened. "T- thanks, Pearl…" he said, uncomfortable. He removed the wrapper from the gift slowly, trying to not damage what was under it.

He was not expecting that gift. As it exposed itself, he shuddered in front of it.

In front of him stood a beautiful frame, with some nicely crafted handwritings at the top with the childish, yet pleasant words "_My best friend and I_". Gently stuck inside the frame was a picture of himself and… Clay; both of them with a joyful, energetic smile on their face, happy to be living, having realized their dreams, ignoring the fate that was awaiting them.

That was the best gift he could ever get. Inside his being, he was so shaken by the emotions that he was about to crush himself into incessant sobs.

However, he decided to withhold himself, as the past needed to stay in the past. Anyway, everything was going to be fine. Of course, Clay was fine, and he, himself, was fine!

"Pearl…" started Apollo with an unusual, fragile voice coming out of him. "I must really thank you for this gift…"

* * *

A feeling of competition reigned over the crew of the agency. Another game was being played; all eyes were glued to the television, each four players were ready to win this newly released party game. They became prisoner of this new, rivaling world. As the number of controllers was limited to four, Pearl had decided that she would be the one watching the gamers challenging against each other as she had never been in touch with the reality of technology.

Still, something, or rather, someone, was gone from the set. Since Juniper was already losing the competition she didn't really make an effort to win anyway, from her corner, she noticed not too far away a red sight, sitting in his lone corner in the dark dining room, watching what seemed like no direction in particular. The odd effects of the drinks she had earlier starting to dissipate from herself and her defeat now being guaranteed in the game, she lent her controller to the unique spectator of their antics and stood on her two feet. "Pearl, can you play the rest for me?" Juniper asked with her quiet tone. "I'm going to get some water."

Reassured that there was no protest coming from the young medium who was a little too happy to "force herself" to try the game, Juniper took some steps away from the group and went for the dining room, slowly approaching the man she had a crush on (but that she was too shy to openly admit it!).

To her surprise, Apollo was not looking at the emptiness, but the screen of his own cellphone, connected over the Internet, silently browsing through his social media page while keeping a good look over the frame he was just given from Pearl. Because the uproar caused by the happy gamers drowned all the noise made by every steps of the young girl, Apollo failed to hear her coming to him, to Juniper's relief. Her head over his shoulders, she spied the content filling the screen of the small device.

More pictures of him and Clay.

After all this time, it seemed Apollo still couldn't get over it.

Cough.

A sudden, unlucky cough escaped her throat, surprising the young man, bringing him back to the reality he was almost avoiding. He turned his head to see Juniper, whose cheeks were becoming bright pink. She did everything to avoid the young man's bright brown eyes that abnormally became (to her worry) piercing, but unfortunately, her own sight was cemented to his like if she was lost into a hypnosis session. She gulped as she noticed that her crush was touching his bracelet with his other hand.

Her nervousness could not be overlooked, so Apollo decided to speak first. "Juniper? What are you doing here?" he asked with a strict look on his face. Her heartbeat fastened.

"Huh, I came to get some water! Ha, ha… I was thirsty!" she threw out randomly as she reddened and trembled even more. When she finished her sentence, the young man's sight intensified even further to her horror as she realized that he was probably using his perceiving ability on her.

"I- I don't believe you…" Apollo revealed, a little troubled.

A curse could almost be heard as she forgot that there were no lies that could escape this man. Her stress lowered as she decided to expose the truth. "Sorry, Apollo! I saw you alone in your corner and I was worried! So I came to see how you were doing…"

Lowering his eyes with a sad little smile, a feeling of pity appeared in the boy's voice. "No, I should be the one apologizing; I should have fun with you guys… But… I didn't know what to think…"

After these words, he stood up with a happier, gentle face, a determined smile appearing on his lips. "After all, Apollo Justice is fine!" he cried out a little too enthusiastically, his chords of steel coming back to him. He grabbed his phone and his frame and walked toward the gaming group. Juniper could only watch him go when he turned back to her, his lips still curled up with a soothing radiance. "Are you coming, Junie?" he amicably called.

A cold, yet wholehearted chill crossed Juniper's entire being at the nickname Apollo just spilled out. Normally, only her childhood friend Athena would use that name for her, but to hear it from the one she admired and loved, somehow she felt like in heaven. To her, wings slowly sprouted on her back, lifting her to a whole new world of love. Ecstatically, she exclaimed: "Oh, yes! Yes, I d… I'm coming!"

She realized the mistake she was going to yell out and the young man seemed to have noticed it, but, to her luck, it did not bother him.


	3. Chapter 3

_Well, I don't think the Apollo and Juniper's part at the end was romance. Maybe one-sided from Juniper, but I think Apollo's the kind of guy to be oblivious of love and to "friendzone" girls (and maybe guys)._

Also, sorry for the late update. Busy with job, and whenever I had free time, Professor Layton VS Phoenix Wright took all my time. Now that the game is finished, I can finally return to this fic and reading more stories.

_And to cloemcg, I want to pm you back, but you disable them. :( But thanks to you and everyone else who read, review, fav and everything this fic!_

_**Disclaimer:**__ I do not own Ace Attorney and its characters. Capcom own them._

**Chapter 3: A Phantom**

"Oh no! That's impossible! I got beaten!" the young red-haired girl yelled out, despair and disappointment could be seen on her eyes as she pointed her shaking knuckles high in the air. After all, she had just lost all of her stars from the party video game competition. No one was able to hold in their laughter as Mr. Wright rose up his controller, his whole being screaming his victory over her defeat.

A loud, complaining thud was heard from above. Their game ended abruptly as a neighbor from the upper floor banged at them so they would just shut up a little more. Only angry stares and fists looked up to the ceiling as they simply wanted to enjoy more of their pleasant time. Apollo could only sigh of exhaustion before them. After comfortably stretching out his arms, he stood up from the couch and turned to everyone. "Thanks for this little party, guys!" the young attorney announced, trying to force his chords of steel, some darker bags revealing under his eyes. "However, I need to go; Kitty needs his food, and I'm a bit sleepy…"

Yet, Athena protested as if the man just offended her. "What?" she started. "But it's only 10PM! You'll be 24 soon, I doubt that your curfew is before midnight at your age, especially on Saturday night!" Perhaps he was imagining things, but he swore he heard her sing at her last two words.

"Ha, ha, very funny, Athena!" Apollo answered back and his sarcasm was quite obvious. "But I really need to go!" After he was done with his reply, he grabbed his long winter coat and dashed to the entrance, kindly sending the group a hand. Although his lips were curled up highly, he was still unable to hide his darker eyes. "Thanks again for the night, it definitely made me feel good!"

The creaking door was making an oddly soothing sound as it slowly closed itself with the young man's parting. A break took over the little group, seemingly not really sure on how to continue their evening with one gone from the cast. After a few seconds of peace, Juniper broke the silence, her eyes glimmering toward the direction her crush disappeared to. A glint of admiration and pity was seen in her shining stare.

"Poor Apollo…" she lamented, almost deafly. "I don't need Thena's ears to see that he's still feeling bad for what happened last month…"

As Mr. Wright intervened between her little sobs, a resolute aura appeared on the older man. A weird grin was stuck on his expression. "Don't worry, Juniper," the spiky haired man comforted her. "Apollo's reaction today was expected. That is exactly why we held in reserve another surprise to him!"

Suddenly, Juniper felt like prisoner by the rest of the group as they plastered themselves a smile just like the older lawyer. It was almost scary as her already fragile body started to quiver in front of the mocking time. "What?" she exclaimed, perplexed. "Did you plot a scheme against me? Because I have no idea why you are all doing this!"

Her friend Athena lowered a hand on her shoulder. "Not against you, Junie, but for him!" the other female attorney revealed.

"Huh?"

When a vanishing girl suddenly returned to the main room, joining everyone back, Trucy appeared like a true magician, a piece of big cloth hiding her small hands; a familiar jacket. The young girl handed the cloth toward the only spirit medium in place. As she grabbed it, Pearl turned to the entrance and ran quickly toward the door, sending a friendly hand, just like the man gone before her.

"Wish _him_ good luck!" Pearl bolted out, disappearing behind the wall.

Confusion was the only feeling Juniper could sense at the moment. It seemed everyone knew the plan except her. Now she was curious. "Wish him luck?" she spitted out, almost impatiently. "What do you mean? Why is nobody speaking?"

Seeing how her friend was desperate for an answer, Athena finally spoke. "That was an idea I had about a week and half ago. We all knew the mourning for Apollo was a bit harder than expected, so that's why we worked up with a plan to help him go through this difficult part of life. When the boss told me about the power of the Fey clan…"

* * *

His heart seemed to have sank even further in deep emotions, deception filling his thoughts as he realized the surviving snow had already died under the hotter wind of the climate. He wished the white and cold surface could stay longer; he felt that the reflection of the celestial moon and even the uglier, artificial lights made by man-made remains was able to warm up to his sadness.

The set around him was, somehow, familiar. These old brick walls, these scattered wooden boxed standing everywhere around the courtyard, these traces of paint almost invisible on the concrete, few potholes here and there, and few almost green plants scattered around the cracks on the ground, weakened by the merciless season. So that was what became of his old school in these days.

Actually, the place did not change much.

Nostalgia drifting in his mind, Apollo took a long, almost eternal breath. He leisurely sat on one of these big boxes, his coat slowly absorbing the surrounding humidity prisoner on the wooden piece, much to his discomfort. After few rising up and sitting up like an exercise trying to exceed out the water, with him finally still on his bench, he put a hand in his pocket and slowly took out his forged frame. A tiny serene smile appeared when he stared at the picture between his cold fingers, looking at his friend.

His deceased friend.

His thoughts were trying to wander around aimlessly, making his best to focus on how the frame was well-crafted and how the handwriting was so charming on it.

But his stare could not get away from the two happy young men, not moving from their spot.

His eyes were gazing at the details of this picture: Clay and Apollo, both of them showing signs of resolve as they looked forward their bright future. With a humble passion, he remembered that photograph, taken on a warm autumn day. This was shot few days after that juridical case, hosting the famous jurists' case where his client's had been given the innocent verdict; however, his old mentor was officially found guilty of murder. For a second time.

He did not really hate that mentor, Kristoph Gavin. In fact, he was quite a genius defense attorney and a very respectful one on the top of that. Even if the older man had a rotten subconscious mind, Apollo had adopted few useful techniques from Mr. Gavin, mainly that evidence meant everything in a court of law. While he won the court against his mentor, he had lost one of the best law teachers and a friend forever, never to hear from him ever again.

But he remembered. That autumn day, something would make him forget that troubled past that kept coming to haunt him. Clay announced him that he was going to finally live his dreams: becoming the apprentice of his idol, Solomon Starbuck, the great miracle astronaut, for the HAT-2 mission. To even prove that he was telling the truth, he shoved to his friend's face the famous jacket everyone involved in the HAT-2 mission get to own.

Even in sadder times, Clay was always there to cheer him up. To keep that happy moment forever, Apollo asked a random passerby to take them in a photograph using his cellphone. He would enjoy the moment to the very end.

Alas, good moments were always ephemeral.

Under the dark sky of this winter night, the stars and bright moon suddenly started to muddle around his being. That wonderful memory did not help the reminder of a death that kept his weakened mind captive, and some drops felt down on his frame. Few sobs escaped the man's lips as he vainly tried to shut them.

_Hey, you know, you can stop crying. It breaks my heart to see you like that._

A voice spoke to him like a ghost, but he didn't bother to direct his thoughts on it. From times to times, since that dreadful day, he could hear voices from all sides, like an angel and a demon debating on who was going to win over their protégée's decision. In a funny, silly way, he repelled that thought with his hand as if he was shooing away a mosquito looking for blood.

_Apollo… Apollooooo… Mister Justiiiice…_

Hastily, Apollo turned his head behind him. That voice was a little too loud and jokey to be his own thoughts. It brought him back to the sad reality, to his dissatisfaction. "Hey!" he yelled out, his voice outwardly alerted, with almost dry tears still visible on his face. "W-Who's spying on m…"

Apollo could not speak anymore.

A ghost was standing before him, determined, with an enchanted grin stuck on the expression of the dead. A phantom.

Suddenly, everything went dark, like a peaceful nightmare. The school, the ground, the celestial bodies, the whole planet; all of them disappeared. In this empty void were only standing himself… and this new companion. As everything around them crumbled to dust, a feeling of confusion and, strangely, relief reigned inside the spirit of the young man in red, his motionless eyes forming a huge circle, his mouth dully open and dumbstruck. This did not prevent the phantom to approach even further toward the confused young man.

The ghost helped himself with his loud voice.

"Apollo, did you miss me?"

The attorney shook his head in disbelief. He carefully listened to the ghost's voice, his confusion leaving him little by little as he took a cautious look on the body of the being in front of him, avoiding his piercing glare.

Here was standing another young man, crossing his arms, clothed with… an almost pink, kimono-like dress that was pretty much too thigh for him, and on the top of that, the jacket of his late friend. Soon enough, his eyes finally get to see more details of his head. Behind his façade were two goofy hair loops, freely dancing in the wind with the rest of his light brown hair and his pointy hair peaks that almost formed, in a nearly poetic way, the shape of a star. Finally, his stare crossed his, looking deeply into his brown pupils, keeping their firmness and some serenity.

Clay Terran.

Incredible!

Here stood Clay, flesh and bone, in the costume of some… young spirit medium…

He wanted to make sure the man standing over there was real: his hands frenetically travelled over his body just to make sure he was really not a ghost, a phantom, a zombie; a material thing, really… The young lawyer's body was trembling everywhere, just like his voice. "C-Clay?" a quite emotionally shaken Apollo cried out, not really knowing how to react as he was facing the weird situation. "Clay! Is that really you? B-But… That's impossible! You are… dead, aren't you?"

Strangely, the pressure in his voice suddenly fell down by few octaves with his next sentence. "And why are you in that… ridiculous costume?"

When a little laugher escaped from his friendly grin, Clay firmly took hold of his friend's hands trying to calm the live young man down; it was fortunately that his action actually worked as appeasement could be seen on Apollo's self, the calm coming back with the rest of the set that finally reappeared around them. Coming back to the reality, there was a little shock to see that Clay was still here, physically, his smile still coated on his face.

"Yeah sure, Apollo, it's really me, Clay Terran, your best friend!" Clay shut himself as he realized he was slightly wrong with what he just mentioned. He picked up with a more serious tone. "Actually, that's me, but at the same time, that's not me… At first, I wasn't so sure if this reality was real, but it seems everything's real, for real…"

"When I appeared in this world of live beings, there was a letter in my hands saying that I was being channeled by a certain Pearl Fey; that my spirit was borrowing her body so I can have a physical form. That way I can interact with the living people... and of course, to wear this ridiculous costume as you said, ha, ha! Can you believe it? I'm kinda a girl, and yet I'm a guy! But I must admit that it took me five long minutes to understand the letter with the awful handwriting on it!"

Another laugh was heard from him, but he finally spoke with a softer voice, almost like a sage as he slowly closed his eyes. "She also wrote that you needed to discuss with me…"

A shock appeared on the deceased as soon as he opened his eyes again… only to see his friend Apollo, his back facing him, his two hands stuck on the two sides of his head, mumbling few incoherent words to himself. "No way! I'm dreaming! Dreamingdreamingdreamingdreaming…"

Stunned by his friend's reaction, Clay decided to use his very own chords of steel and his voice was heard all around. "Hum, Apollo!" he started, dismayed. "Remember! Don't tell me you already forgot about that famous Phoenix Wright case in 2019? You know, that one with the weird prosecutor and his bionic machine thing on his head, that dead psycho girl and his spirit medium assistant…"

"Dude! I mean, you believed in the channeling of the dead and I believed in your perceiving skill! I'm telling you! Everything's real! C'mon, Apollo, are you listening?"

There was a short moment of silence after Apollo eventually stood quietly, though he still found himself back to the phantom's direction. Slowly, he sat back on one of his boxes, his eyes staring at the ground, his elbows sitting on his knees and his head landing on his hands. He finally realized that he was not dreaming. Clay took advantage of his friend's sudden quietness to approach him again and laid down beside him. Seeing Apollo was still not able to turn his head to the other one, an awkwardness reigned over the two young men.

Few seconds passed, and, much to the deceased one's disbelief, Apollo was the first to break the silence, his stare still glued to the earth. "Hey Clay," he foolishly started. "You know, I still find you… ridiculous in your costume."

Apollo coughed up few shy laughs, and Clay followed. "He, he!" Clay replied. "In the world of the dead, clothes don't make the man!"

"That's what I thought, he, he!" Apollo revealed, his tone getting more and more cheered.

"So, let's go back to business, Apollo! Apparently, you've got few things to tell me?"

Something to tell him? But of course! But… but… Suddenly, the young attorney's mind drew a blank, and he became lost in his own chaotic world of thoughts, his own thoughts. What could he possibly tell him, right now? He couldn't really speak to the dead, couldn't he? But, Clay was not really dead, wasn't he? At least, not right now! Apollo opened his mouth, but no word could escape his lips. There was so much to tell him, but he had no idea where to start.

"Say, Apollo, don't tell me I've been channeled for nothing!" the former, young astronaut exclaimed with his big, mocking smile, showing his mischievous air.

Apollo finally turned back to his companion, his face almost grumpy but yet pleased. "Of course not, Clay!" his chords of steel joyfully answered. "It's just… I didn't expect Pearl to… you know… channel you just like that, today, or even ever… It's the first time I'm witnessing such scene! Yes, I remember Mr. Wright's case in 2019, and I even remember Pearl who channeled her deceased cousin when Mr. Wright needed help... But still, it's such a surprise to see a real channeling in front of myself, in real life!"

"Ha, ha! You're right, dude! I'm just like that, a surprise!"

"Ha, ha, ha!"

Finally, after few amicable laughs, the pressure vanished like a small steam in the cold atmosphere, leaving the comfort of the normal life, with two old great friends discussing of everything and nothing, as if naught or no one could destroy their friendship, as if no tragedy ever happened last month.

What a night this was going to be!


	4. Chapter 4

_Sorry again for the late. Real life can be full of surprises!_

_Not to mention I got another cheesy fanfic idea._

_Anyway, enjoy this chapter, it completes this story!_

_**Disclaimer:**__ I do not own Ace Attorney and its characters. Capcom own them._

**Chapter 4: Everything's fine!**

"Hey, Apollo! When I found you, you had something in your hands and you were in tears!"

"W-what?" Apollo protested, a bit horrified by the revelation. "I didn't even cry! That's not true!"

"Ha, ha, ha!" Clay laughed. "I know you too much, dude! I don't even need your magical bracelet to see through your lies!"

"Okay, okay, you won this round…" Apollo admitted defeat. He dived his hand inside his pocket to reveal the frame with the photo.

Clay quickly grabbed the well-made object and examined the details on the picture. A jolt went through his spines as he immediately recognized the photo of himself and his best friend. He took a slow breath before using his own chords of steel once again. "Hey! I remember this picture!" he cried out, a pleasant smile was seen on his expression. "You were wearing your bracelet on the wrong wrist!"

Well, that was unexpected, at least to Apollo. It was true that the young attorney's bracelet, at the time of the picture, was placed on his right wrist instead of his usual left one, but never would he pay attention to this insignificant detail. No, the moment of the picture was what truly counted to him. "Clay, that's such… a memory!" he revealed, teasing him.

"Absolutely!" the former astronaut answered. "My memory is such that I remember that picture was taken about a week after I was chosen for the HAT-2 mission on the autumn of 2026!"

Although there was nothing really funny with his last sentences, the two of them could not stop laughing. The time was such that Apollo was almost forcing the action, and Clay seemed to have noticed it. Nevertheless, he played along with his laughing act for his friend's mood: Apollo truly deserved it, after all.

Even so, Apollo was the first to stop laughing. An abrupt realization struck him like a lightning bolt. What if his friend's presence was only… temporary? "Say, Clay… Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure, go ahead, that's why I'm here!"

A faint torment became noticeable as soon as Apollo's tone lowered a little. "I suppose that… Pearl's channeling on you won't last forever. I bet you aren't on Earth for very long, am I right?"

A frown took over the dead one's visage. To tell the truth, he really wanted to stay in the world of living things, spending the rest of his days with his father, living his dreams, going to space with Solomon Starbuck, having a girlfriend, then a wife, few kids maybe, and having fun with his best friend, like two ordinary buddies.

Unfortunately, death was also part of life.

"Hey, dude…" Clay calmly whispered to his suddenly saddened friend. He knew his mission today was to comfort him, and he had to do this in his own way. With a determined and yet comforting voice, he continued. "I don't wanna be all philosophical and stuff, but just like life, nothing's eternal! My time just came earlier than expected, that's all, and your turn will come someday too!"

Apollo was all ears, but he could not hide his faint smile as he listened to every single words coming out from his friend's lips. Clay had never been the best one with words, so he usually never had a good way to reassure and console others around him; his chosen words were always a bit too silly for the mood of a sad moment. However, Apollo was never bothered by this small thing that was one of Clay's main flaws because, to the young lawyer, what mattered was that his friend did his truly best. Much to his familiar relief, today was no exception. After all, the young astronaut always had a fairly innocent personality, almost childish, despite his great maturity and intelligence.

As always, Apollo wanted to face palm at his friend's words, but he chose to not deceive his friend's try. With this, he gave an awkward reply. "Huh, I guess so… I know I'll die one day too, but that's not really what I meant…"

But Clay insisted further, this time more cautiously. "Listen, Apollo, let's think about that time again; you know, in junior high school…"

Another sudden jolt of rush travelled across every parts of the attorney. Needless to say, he knew exactly of the story the young astronaut was going to tell as Apollo himself told the same past event to his companions at the agency, but he thought to hear it from the concerned friend from the story itself would be an interesting tale to listen.

"You remember when Mom died… I never wanted anyone to see my feelings, but for some reason, you could see the pain behind my wall of joy. I didn't really want anyone to notice it, but deep inside me, I felt alone and I wanted people to console me. Yes, I was dumb and stubborn like that, and it made me feel lonely."

"You dared to come to me anyway when everyone else felt too hopeless with me. It was then you taught me how to make myself feel better."

"I still remember like it was yesterday. You showed me what real friends were for: to support each other to the very end!"

His last sentence started to become a little more enthusiastic. Clay stood up, a hand set on his chest, his eyes shifting toward the stars with a sincere smile appearing on his face. "But, you know, when I start to feel that way, I yell at the top of my lungs! I holler "I'm fine!", and you know what? I start to feel like maybe I really will be fine!"

Then came the most important part of this story. Like a bomb thrown in a faraway valley, his scream was heard all around.

"CLAY TERRAN IS FINE!"

"Clay, you're stealing my lines!" Apollo sneered, remembering all of these words that he himself had told his mourning friend in the past when they were still children.

The astronaut had such a passion for life in his eyes at the very moment. He wanted his friend to be as lively. He turned to the other one with a wink. "Now your turn, Apollo!"

Euphoria had taken over the two blissful young men as they rose up their arms in the air, both bringing their chords of steel to a superior level, yelling their magic words.

"APOLLO JUSTICE IS FINE!"

"CLAY TERRAN IS FINE!"

"WE'RE FINE!"

"HA HA HA!"

"HA HA HA HA!"

They were bring prisoner of their own joy, and the two friends continued to scream as if they wished at the top of their mind that everyone on planet Earth could hear them. Apollo was enjoying this to no end, knowing this feeling of happiness would not last, and not a bit he cared if they were bothering some neighbors or more that might have been wandering around them. Clay was here for him, and he needed to enjoy their time together.

_Hum… don't you young boys look a bit silly._

Woops! The voice was pretty low, but loud enough for the two young men lost in their little party to stop their shenanigan and lose their posture. As they suddenly stood still, they finally turned around in unison to notice an old man who, decidedly, chose the right moment to walk around this empty old school courtyard, save for the three human beings. "Also, what's with those naked legs in the middle of winter?" the elder pointed out, his eyes stuck on Clay who, in turn, noticed his two lower members with a little shame.

Suddenly, the weather felt cold to him!

After all this time, the young astronaut never realized that some clothes were missing from his being for such night on the cold season, but he decided the fact was not that important, considering his status as a… dead man. Proudly, Clay did his best to reveal his bright teeth with his biggest grin to the man. With a scornful tone, he replied: "Well, Mister Random Man, I'm dead, so it doesn't matter, doesn't it?"

What? Suddenly, Apollo tried grab the whole hood of his coat, lowering his back as he tried to vainly hide his head with the piece of cloth. Why did his friend have to mention that he was dead? The old man will think of them as mad, delirious people!

Wait a minute… Did it really matter? Right now, they were delirious. Delirious with joy.

"Ah, really!" the elder replied, trying to not enter too much into their crazy conversation since the two men looked so feverishly happy in their own world. "I should've known. You youngsters have been smoking something a little too much." And with his last words, the man soon disappeared elsewhere, leaving the two friends alone once again.

Apollo slowly breathed in relief. A fear had come to him as on how he was going to explain the old man how the heck Clay was "dead" and he even took few milliseconds to prepare himself to answer any of his questions, if he had any. To his fortune, there wasn't. With the pressure gone, the young attorney turned to his friend again, and this time, he frowned with a slight worry. "Clay, how are you feeling?"

Clay still sent him back a smile. "I'm fine, why?"

The other young man nodded. "No, I mean… how are you feeling, now that you are not of this world anymore… W-Why did it have to happen? Why did you get killed just before you realized your dream to go to space? I'm under the impression that all of your past years were in vain for you. You worked so hard to get where you were, and then, a stupid international spy took your life, just like that, just to keep his identity hidden by stealing your moon stone…"

The young phantom left out a long sigh that could almost rival his former mentor's and quietly rested a hand near his heart, close to where the cursed knife fatally entered his flesh a month earlier. He reminded himself of that very moment of extreme terror, lost in a deep fear that he would never be able to fulfill his childhood dream and to ever see the ones he loved. He remembered, as darkness consumed the very thin of life that remained at the time of the sheer fright, that he had no idea why everything was happening to him, who was that man who held the knife and the lighter, and why he plunged the weapon into him.

"Ah…" Clay sighed, a faint sentiment of liberation could be seen on his face. "So that was why I got killed... If only… if only I haven't held that capsule…" He paused to grin again. "Thanks for telling me! I can now be at peace!"

"However, it's time for me to go, Apollo. I'm returning to the other side. I really enjoyed this time with you in the world of the living things."

As the remained amount of happiness dissipated like a dying flame, deception and sorrow appeared on the young lawyer's face. He really, really wanted to beg Clay, his best friend, to stay a little longer on this Earth, living the life he lost, but he had to accept the idea that a dead one could not live in the same universe as himself as long as he lived.

Obviously, Clay noticed his friend's eyes as they were suddenly moved by the grief. Thus, for the last time, he unexpectedly opened his two arms to grab his astounded companion by his neck to bring him closer, keeping his sentiment of delight. Apollo was surprised by the sudden move as he almost choked when his head hit the other young man's chest. "Awww, don't make that face to me!" the astronaut ecstatically exclaimed. "Don't worry, Polly! We'll see each other again one day! Everything will be fine!"

"And you know that? I saw my Mommy on the other side too! I missed her, and she missed me too, so all's well! Trust me!"

"If I ever see your true mom and your true dad on the other side, I'll make sure to tell them 'Hi!' from you! And, you know, I promise to find them, for real!"

"And don't forget about all your friends you have on Earth! There are very good friends at the agency, they are like your new family, aren't they? And there's that weird nature girl who obviously has a crush on you, damnit! Maybe one day, everything will work with her, who knows?"

Finally, Apollo returned him the same strong-minded smile. His friend was right. Life was still going for him, and he had friends with whom he can share his ideals, his emotions, his secrets as if they were his family. And, really, maybe one day, he would start a flesh and bone family that he will be able to keep together, on the contrary of his own parents he never knew. He was still fairly young and there were many more years ahead of him.

A little too excited, remembering the previous words Clay had mentioned just before the speaking of his friends on Earth, Apollo replied with an almost childish voice: "M-my mother and father? You could meet them, for me? You promise me?"

"Of course! I promise you! Really!"

As the two of them embarked upon a long, heartfelt hug, the boy in red softly whispered: "Thank you for coming for me, Clay."

And the young astronaut returned: "Thank you for being here for me, Apollo."

"I'll see you later, buddy."

"See ya later, dude."

The moment felt so familiar Apollo almost felt his heart melting in a warm comfort. There was only him and his friend, each of them holding each other firmly in their arms, enjoying this time they both cherished as much as they could. His mind went at peace, causing him to gently shut his eyes and making him realize that he must never took these instants for granted.

However, reality stroke him as Clay unexpectedly became heavy. Apollo opened his eyes by surprise as the phantom was trying to hang onto his neck to not fall behind. What? What was happening?

_Cough! Cough!_

Again, what? Clay coughed again, this time with a strange _feminine_ voice. So that meant…

Clay was gone.

Gradually, with pain and struggle, Apollo dropped the person as delicately as possible. The silhouette of the new smaller and thinner body kept up with the coughs. The young man softly took hold of the new one's cheeks, and as he carefully eyed the juvenile face, she had become the spirit medium Pearl Fey once again.

"Pearl!" Apollo called, worried of her state.

In the midst of her coughs, Pearl was trying to answer him. "Apollo! Urrgh… What did your friend do? Screaming like a madman? *_coughs_* My throat feels so… dry and… sore…"

Apollo was unable to contain a small laugher, but he was feeling a little embarrassed for her condition. "Huh, I'm sorry, Pearl!" he cried out, foolishly scratching his head. "We might have used… our chords of steel a little too much…"

The young girl nervously dug in the pocket of the jacket to find a cough pastille she hid before she called the spirit of the astronaut. She immediately threw it inside her mouth, and after few rapid tongue grips and saliva on the tiny candy, she finally sighed with her returned comfort, her throat appeased by the sweet savior. After a little minute, she turned to Apollo, her lips curved up. "Well, I'm just glad you look happier, Apollo! Anything to make my little sister's assistant happy again!"

"Wait!" the lawyer protested, taken by the misunderstanding. "Trucy's assistant? Since when I'm her as-" He stopped his sentence. After all, it felt useless to ask too much questions after what just happened. Pearl just did him a huge favor and he was more than grateful for all of her recent actions. "No, nevermind…" he revealed at last.

"Thank you for everything, Pearl."

A small breeze softly but coldly flowed in the courtyard, and the young teenager started to shiver. "Ah!" she was startled by surprise. "I didn't expect the weather to be so cold! I'm starting to freeze!"

To give her a sincerer comfort, the young man offered her his long coat so she could cover her legs, placed an arm around the girl's shoulders and took her for a walk toward the office. "I guess it's really cold!" he approved. "Here, let's go back to the office. I think everyone else are still over there, am I right?"

When the two of them began walking to the agency's direction, Pearl exclaimed: "Ah, I'd do anything right now to get ahold on one of those hot, salty bowls of noodles from Mr. Eldoon! I hope he's still open for business at this time! But at least you give me a little warm!"

Even if Apollo knew that Eldoon's stand was unfortunately closed since few hours, to the misfortune of the spirit medium, the Chinese leftover from the little party would be enough for them. He felt a bit hungry himself.

Everything's fine!

* * *

**Extra ending:**

Sitting alone on his cloud on the other side, the young astronaut cursed himself.

"Crap! I promised Apollo I'd tell 'Hi!' to his parents before I return on Earth! But now, I can't even find them here! He was expecting me to get some news from them, but… My promise will be broken, bloody stars!"

From above, admitting loss, he was observing Pearl as she was starting a new channeling session. "And damnit, I'm going to be channeled again in 3, 2…"

**Fin**

_**Author's final notes (and AA4 spoilers ahead):**__ A silly ending because I don't really like serious endings. I know that in the game, it was mentioned that Apollo's father, who was apparently a guest performer for the Gramarye troupe, has been killed in a stage accident, but so was his mother years later. But we all know that she is still alive! So yeah, if his mother is alive when she was supposed to be "dead", maybe… his father is alive as well? Dun dun duuuuuun!_

_Oh yeah, the new fanfic idea I mentioned earlier, well, it's about Polly's mom's life before and after she got her son. And if she's involved, then of course, his father will be there too! I tend to imagine his father to be just like the Polly we adore. Let's hope I can finish that one as well._

_Also, this is the second serious story I ever finished. Yay. I humbly still thank everyone who read, fav, follow or/and review this fic! It's been fun!_


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